Chapter Twenty-Four

"You have got to stop doing this, Jasper, please."

I said nothing as I sat in numb silence while Hera's fingers gently wrapped gauze around my wrists. I stared at her lips as she spoke, wondering how she could find the strength to speak when the world just didn't matter any more.

It'd been just two months since Milo died.

The world still felt so cold and empty. It took too much effort to get up and move around, so why bother for something as simple and foolish as brushing my teeth or showering? Food had no taste anymore and sleep was impossible because Darling wailed all night long, his sobs echoing in my ear so much that I was just losing my patience.

In an act of defiance and punishment, I took to my wrists. It was supposed to be quick and painless, except Hera wasn't supposed to be home that day. I had been meticulously tracking how many times she came into my room and I knew she was due for an appointment and Kali was MIA for a training test that she very reluctantly went to.

The attempt failed, because I'd panicked halfway through and butchered myself. Darling had panicked too, rushing to heal me and he was fighting me the whole time. It had been an ample opportunity for Hera to walk in and take control.

"I know it hurts," her breath hitched and I remembered a time when that sound would've broken my heart, but for some reason, I was so insanely cold and numb inside that I couldn't find it in me to give a rat's ass, but thankfully she just continued with her pretend mommying, "But you can't give up, not right now, not this soon. You're so young. You still have so many millennia ahead of you. The world will be a lot better when we finish, do you understand?" The reminder of being forced to live another fucking year let alone a single fucking millennia drew a strange dry sob from my throat. The sound was hoarse and sawing. Hera tsked, reaching out and pulling me against her chest to hold me.

It took a couple more tries to solidify that I wasn't meant to leave, not yet.

I had things I needed to do.

And it started with entering that fucking apartment.

It had taken a whole year for me to go back inside. Just approaching the door was making my skin crawl and Darling was already whimpering helplessly, clawing at my chest to escape, like a dog that needed to run to its owner's grave.

I lost track of how long I stood outside the door, staring at it and waiting for Milo to just open the door to greet me, a warm smile on his face as he cooed at me.

It was funny because a lot of the other soldiers would make fun of us, and yeah, they could laugh all they want, but we both knew they'd never feel the way we did.

None of them were lucky enough to have what we had.

The use of past tense drew the urge to cry to the surface, but I had spent so much time crying that it felt like I had cried everything I had.

I took the handle in my grasp, opened it up and came into a room that reeked of cleaning products. It stung my nostrils and I actually had to step back and take a gulp of fresh air from the hall before ducking back inside, heading to the ventilation system. I cranked it up and stepped outside again to let it air out before I went inside.

A look around revealed someone had come in and meticulously cleaned everything. It was so clean it actually choked me up a bit, because there was no sign of Milo anywhere. There was no sign of where he died on the floor, no sign of his shoes at the door, his clothes draped over the sofa arm or Milo himself passed out on the sofa after work.

There was something so cold and sterile about our apartment.

It felt like I was walking in a dream.

Or maybe a nightmare.

I walked back towards the bedroom, pausing to see that someone had pulled the trash out of the can in the bathroom. I turned the lights on, greeted with yet another very cold and sterile room, save for the trash sitting against the vanity. I picked it up out of habit to tie it off, only to pause when I heard something rattle. It was muffled by trash, but it was strangely out of place somehow.

I set the bag on the floor and spilled it out.

I watched a box of tampons plop out, which made me scowl because it was Kali's brand. I had no idea to this very day what possessed me to pick them up and open it.

It just didn't sound right. It seemed off.

And when I opened the box to pour out four positive pregnancy tests, I felt the nausea swirl up my throat. The protein shake I'd managed to choke down for breakfast came up and I lunged for the toilet. The heaving was so violent I was in tears, sobbing over the toilet and trying to hang onto the counter.

My world spun.

"No, but seriously," Milo's whine echoed in my head, as we lay sprawled in bed together, his fist bumping against my chest, "What would you name our child? If we had one." I brushed the hair back from his face, admiring his hopeful smile.

"How am I supposed to know that if I don't know our child?"

"You already know them," Milo exclaimed and when I raised an eyebrow at him, he smiled as he scooted up to my face and placed a finger on my nose, "Because they'll have your beautiful smile, your Grecian nose... Your cute lips." He paused to brush his finger over my bottom lip now. He smiled, but there was something strangely sad about it as he traced his finger along my jaw, cupping my cheek.

"Your pretty eyes, like pools of sunlight," he whispered and I swallowed at his compliments, not sure what to say in response, but he seemed to just be admiring me aloud for the hell of it as he continued, "They'll remind me of you. Their laughter will be just like yours, their joy and passion for life and its unexpected chaos."

He was flustering me.

He seemed so intense, even more so as he met my lips. His kiss was conflicting. One moment his teeth sank into my lip in a sharp nip, but then he'd lave the sore spot slowly, tenderly. I parted my lips and let him take his time. He slid in between my legs, his hands stroking down the sides of my torso.

"I want to name them," Milo paused against my lips and I blinked a few times because I was confused until I remembered our conversation a second ago and stared up at him as he gazed at me, "Nami."

"Nami...?" I murmured. I had never heard that name before and couldn't even begin to guess where it came from. Milo's voice hitched when he said it and I opened my mouth to ask him, but he kissed me particularly hard.

"Some day, Jasper. Some day we will have our Nami."

My mind was so foggy at that point. I couldn't remember the details of running out of that apartment and ever coming back. I couldn't remember if I stopped to think about it, stopped to actually absorb the fact that Milo had been pregnant when he died.

It felt like the world was so cold and so empty and I felt so alone.

I had lost more than one person in just a short amount of time. And after that, things had just gotten worse. We lost a whole batch of artificials, one after the other.

Mother was impatient, and she was growing angrier and angrier.

"Why are none of them surviving," mother snarled, whirling on Tenjin, who looked like he was going to be sick. He took a step away from her and just pinned her with a defiant glare, which was not a good look in front of Hera. She grabbed him and threw him against the wall and he grunted on impact. She grabbed the front of his shirt and gave him a fierce shake that nearly sent his glasses flying.

"Answer me when I speak to you! Remember, you work for me," Hera sneered. Tenjin raked her with a less than impressed glare.

"You told me I was free to do my experiments so long as I did as you commanded, and I did, even after I repeatedly told you that you cannot rush the process, no matter how crunched for time you may be. We are creating people, not a box of macaroni and cheese," he said impatiently. Hera wasn't in the mood for his charming personality. She held him against the wall and used her other hand to gesture for me to hand her the magic neutralizing collar.

I'll give Tenjin the benefit of never giving up. Even when Hera managed to subdue him long enough to get the collar on.

Things got worse after that.

Tenjin fucked up on purpose, and in the process, killed another batch of artificials. When Seven went in for his regular check-ups, Tenjin stopped taking his time and stopped bothering to talk to any of the patients he was given. Instead, he simply had Hera send him extra assistance, but in the form of security. Every patient who went in was subject to Tenjin's rage from then on.

Until he escaped.

"Shouldn't we be gunning for the guy who was giving you your artificials?" I muttered to Hera once as I scanned Tenjin's empty abandoned office. Hera was smiling down at her phone before she blinked and looked up, like she was snapping out of a cute conversation with her girlfriend to remember that she was fucking destroying the world. She looked around for a moment, then back down at her phone with a knowing smile.

"Certainly," she agreed, shutting off her phone and tucking it away before she turned to look at me, "But I've also found a more secure way of ensuring that I receive what I want, when I want it. I need you to do me a huge favor, Jasper."

"Is it a fun favor?" I returned. Hera laughed softly as she walked by me to the computer, giving my cheek a little playful pinch.

"I need you to move to Styx."

"I'm sorry, Styx? As in, Hades's realm?"

"Yes. I already got you an apartment," Hera continued, making me frown, "When you arrive, I need you to call this number." She handed me a little business card that was holographic and shiny. I frowned down at the name.

"The Winged Serpent?" I asked dryly, arching a brow as I scanned the card.

"It's a special brothel invented to assist erotia with their cycles," Hera informed and I looked at her curiously to see her smiling as she went to Tenjin's computer to start downloading all of his research to the external drive she shoved in on her approach, "Go ahead and put in an application."

"Am I losing my job here?" I asked. Hera chuckled.

"Of course not, my love," she answered, finishing the download and removing her device to tuck into her pantsuit, "I'm just going to kick start my plans a little early. When you arrive, I need you to keep an eye on a particular individual." My heart sank. I hadn't been assigned to watch anyone in particular before, at least, not solely, and it sounded like Hera wanted my full attention on this assignment.

"Am I to get this individual pregnant?" I asked after a long awkward silence. Hera paused where she was standing beside the computer, hitting the emergency shut-down that would wipe all of the electronics in this compound.

"When the time is ready," Hera replied and my heart sank further because I was not ready for this kind of mission. I didn't want to get anyone else pregnant, especially someone who didn't want to be, and by force. At the end of the day, Hera was asking me to assault someone, forcibly impregnate them, and bring her weird antichrist obsession to fruition.

"Who is it?" I asked softly. Hera smiled.

"His name is Wren," she answered, making me frown and look up, "He's Hades's grandson, by adoption, of course, so it won't be completely fucked up." I raised an eyebrow that she was even bothered by the incest considering her history, but I said nothing as she began shutting things down until there was no light in the room, save for the red security lights above the doors.

Hera turned to me and the red gave her an eerie sinister glow.

"He's hiding something, Jasper, that one. Hades wouldn't hide him as well as he has unless he was important," she said, and I almost suggested that Hades seems to think all of his family is important, but I kept that to myself, knowing it would just piss her off, "If there is a connection where I think there is, I may be able to get us the one piece we need most."

The missing puzzle piece to her perfect child.

Hera wanted me to impregnate Wren, so she could take our baby as her perfect child.

At the time, it made no sense.

Wren was just an American incubus, cursed with Lust to top it off, so what made her think for a second that Wren would be able to replace Milo in her carefully laid plans?

"This is the lobby," Diego's voice explained as I stood beside him at The Winged Serpent on my first day, watching him gesture around the room, looking positively giddy and proud of his accomplishments, "You'll be our front desk person to start, just so you can learn the ropes around here, and once that's established, we can start hiking you up into server status."

The front doors opened and I looked up.

I understood at that moment, strangely enough, what people meant when they said Cupid struck you with an arrow in the heart.

Wren walked into the building, looking thoroughly tired and a bit disheveled. His hair was windblown, his eyes sunken in, his skin pallid, and that leather jacket seemed to swallow him whole. It wasn't exactly a good first impression, but for some reason, the moment he walked in and that scent hit my nostrils, Darling was howling inside me. He loved Wren the moment he saw him, almost like a dog recognizing its owner after so long.

But I ignored him, because Darling was always making noises in my subconscious to urge me to do things. I had to ignore him. He was nothing more than a big baby anyway.

"Wren," Diego greeted him warmly and Wren flushed when Diego approached him. It was enough to make Wren stop dead in his tracks, his eyes going from Diego to me before he went still. He stared at me and I stared back because it was the strangest sensation in the world fluttering through my chest.

It was almost like I felt... alive. For the first time since Milo had died.

It was a strange sensation after so long.

"I just wanted to introduce you to our new employee, Hex," Diego told Wren, who continued to just stare up at me, "Hex, this is one of our clients, Wren. He's very particular about his tastes and right now, his server is Beni, who you met in the lounge." I couldn't imagine Beni sleeping with Wren and the thought actually brought a smirk out of me.

Wren's sweet innocent face immediately changed.

He looked thoroughly annoyed.

"Something funny?" Wren asked. I smiled. I wanted to tell him I couldn't imagine Beni doing anything that would please him, but I kept that to myself in front of Diego.

"No, it's just a pleasure to meet you, Wren," I said, offering my hand for a shake. Wren stared at it, glanced sideways at Diego, who was eagerly waiting for us to get along. Wren looked at me again and reluctantly took my hand.

Electricity sailed up my arm and into my chest the moment we touched.

Alive.

I feel so alive.

Who the hell was this guy?

Of course, it hadn't taken long to weasel my way into Wren's life and I had mostly done the mission out of curiosity. Why did Hera choose Wren specifically? His medical history, or at least, what I had been able to gather from The Winged Serpent revealed nothing special about Wren. He was just another Hades spawn in a pool of Hades spawn, even if he wasn't blood-related.

Now it all made sense.

Wren was Milo, and Milo was Wren.

Because Milo had been killed before, in his past lives, and somehow he had gained the ability to reincarnate. Not just once or twice. It sounded like it had happened multiple times, which made no sense. The trauma done to the soul was so intense during death that the chances of it surviving to a second vessel was rare. Reincarnation wiped out a good portion of one's previous life, but there would always be bits and pieces left behind to make that connection.

Milo was not a faerie like he had told me growing up.

Wren was not just an American incubus, a bearer of the curse Lust.

Wren was whatever Milo was in his past life.

No, not whatever.

An antichrist.

Or whatever name they bore before Yhwhwa found them.

The pieces fit together, but somehow, it still felt like a lot was still missing. My head swam with the information and it was hard to focus on all of it at once when it felt like I was going to be sick.

The nausea hit me suddenly.

It was enough to snap me out of whatever rest I was getting.

My eyes flew open and I found myself staring up at a white gilded ceiling. It took me a moment to realize that I was back in Wren's room at the palace. I stared at the ceiling for a moment, just to make sure that I wasn't just seeing things. When I confirmed that it was indeed the palace and Wren's scent wrapped around me on the blankets and pillows, I blinked.

I blinked and turned my head a little.

Beside me in an armchair, slumped over the side of the bed, was Wren. He was fast asleep with his arms folded under his head, dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept before now. Judging from the way his phone was sitting facedown on the bed, he had set it down for a second, probably with the intention to just come right back to it.

At his side were at least two different machines that were whirring and hissing. I followed the cords from the machines, seeing that I had sticky pads stuck to my chest again and an IV drip. I followed it down to my right arm, frowning for a moment as something occurred to me.

I snapped my head around to my left side.

Thick bandages wrapped all around my left shoulder and torso. I stared because I was having trouble coping with the fact that my entire arm was gone. I still felt like I could clench my fist, wiggle my fingers. I reached up to wave my other hand around my left shoulder, because I was having difficulty absorbing the fact that my fucking arm was gone.

I dropped my other hand and stared straight ahead as a chill coursed down my spine.

I thought back to the fight with Bethany. It came to me in flashes, her attack, the way it had throw me into the bathtub, a bathtub that was suddenly so very red, even with the water rushing down on me. The blood that had been sprayed all over that apartment made a lot more sense now, because I was missing an entire limb.

I grimaced, though, as a headache spiked in my temples. I touched my forehead, then paused when I realized there was a bandage wrapped around my head. I didn't remember any head injuries, but I also didn't remember losing my fucking arm.

You'd think that would've been a little alarming at the time.

I strangely didn't feel very panicked, though. Mostly annoyed. Annoyed that I was out of commission for now, annoyed that my arm was gone, annoyed that I was once again in bed, the last place I wanted to be at that moment.

I tried to remember exactly how I got to the palace. My last solid memory was turning to Wren as he hung up the phone, tossing it to the ground and smashing it. I remembered staring up at him, watching what little light was outside pour into the room to reflect off of Wren's dark eyes that had just finished spinning that strange color reel.

I heard someone's muffled voice as my ears started to ring. I opened my mouth, but had no idea what I was saying.

I passed out.

Made sense. The blood loss was intense, even with Darling taking over at the end there.

He wasn't very hungry, though. In fact, as I shifted a little in the bed, I realized I felt a bit of a stomach ache. I touched my stomach, giving it a little rub as I tried to think of the last time I ate.

Except this pain wasn't hunger pangs.

It felt like I'd just gone to an American-Chinese buffet and loaded up on six plates of rangoons. It was a little nauseating, even more so as I closed my eyes to try and think of what I could've possibly eaten to have resulted in feeling this uncomfortable—

"Kill that bitch, Darling... And make it hurt."

Abruptly I was sick.

It was an easy roll to the left side of the bed, only the pressure of the bed against my left shoulder only added to the nausea, so I ended up vomiting over the side of the bed to the floor.

"Jasper!" Wren's gasp came from behind me. He thankfully didn't make a huge fuss about me vomiting my guts out. He was quiet as I heaved and choked, spitting on the floor before I rolled back over onto my back, trembling and trying to find my breath.

The heart monitor beside me was going crazy.

"Shut it off," I groaned, closing my eyes and putting my arm over them. The heart monitor volume lowered and a second later, so did the lights so it was very dimly lit. I sighed in relief, dropping my arm down on the bed.

I blinked my eyes open slowly to see Wren standing over me, his worried brows pinched together. When he had full access to me, he reached out to place his hand against my forehead. He seemed content with my temperature and opened up the nightstand drawer to take out a small clear plastic bag. I frowned as I watched him hook it up to the IV.

"Doctoring me...?" I mumbled hoarsely. Wren glanced at me.

"Always," he assured, making me smile weakly, then groan as another sharp sting went through my shoulder, "The medication should be kicking in again. Hades wanted me to switch it out because you seemed like you had slept for a long time." I looked at him, confused.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked, then cleared my throat. It felt like a while, because my throat was dry, my lips were cracked, and I felt a little heavy. Wren didn't answer me, at least, not right away. He finished replacing the bag and after a moment or two, I could feel the heaviness return to my muscles, but in the most soothing way.

I sighed, slumping down into the pillows, absolutely living for the smell of Wren swirling around my head.

"It's been a couple days," Wren said at last, and that should've alarmed me, but the medication made it so all I could do was frown.

"A couple days," I repeated and Wren watched me warily, clearly still waiting for me to go nuts at having been unconscious for so long, "What about D'Angelo? Yhwhwa? Polly— what about Polly—"

"Ssh," Wren murmured, placing his hand on my chest to guide me back down onto the bed when I realized I was starting to straighten up, "Don't worry about anything right now, everything is quiet for now, so just. Lay down and heal so we can figure out what to do next." I looked at him tiredly, confused.

"What do you mean?" I murmured, then paused as another wave of nausea surged up my throat, but it only came as a gross burp as Wren sighed. He took a cup of water off the nightstand to give me and I downed it in a second, gasping for breath afterwards as he took the cup.

"It doesn't matter right this second, just," Wren paused as he stared at me and I stared back, confused, "Please sit still. I'm literally begging you here. Just stay here until I say, okay?" I scowled, because why was he so insistent? It might've had to do with me sneaking off without him, but he seemed more concerned than angry.

I watched him get up and type something on his phone before he returned to the bedside.

"Texting Hades I'm awake?" I asked. Wren gave me a look.

"Don't start, Jasper. He's a doctor."

"He's weird. He's a weird doctor," I was quiet for a moment as Wren simply shook his head and took out his phone to text something else, something I couldn't see, and I wasn't even gonna try looking into his head, not with how shitty and dizzy I was feeling. I looked down at the IV cord and followed the clear liquid to the hanging bag.

"Wreeeeen."

"Hang on, I'm texting Hades—"

"Wreeen, my tummy hurts," I muttered and Wren looked at me curiously for a moment, then grimaced and looked back at his text. I had no idea where the whininess came from. I suddenly felt a little too... silly? It definitely came from the drugs.

A part of me was still panicked, still worried, still stressed, but the medication was going a long way in making me not give a fuck about it. Or anything in fact as I smiled at Wren, who finished his text to look up at me with an arched brow.

"Medicine kicking in?" He asked. I smiled and just nodded. He sighed, raking a hand through his hair before he leaned forward on the bed, looking relieved. I tilted my head to peer into his face and eyeballed me.

"You smell good," I murmured and Wren just gave me a tired smile and I smiled back, "You smell yummy and sweet." I leaned in to brush my nose against his hair, taking a deep inhale of his scent. He shivered a little, then cleared his throat and straightened in his seat.

"Save the flirting for after Hades is done. The last thing I need is him walking in on us," he muttered, averting his eyes. I grinned at that, reaching out to take his hand so I could tug him towards the bed. He immediately took his hand away to point his finger in my face.

"Hey, no, just sit and behave," he ordered. I groaned and Darling even joined in for a second, so the sound was eerily echoed. Wren stared at me, then jumped when the door to the room opened and we both looked up to see Hades coming into the room.

"Dude, you look like you haven't slept as long as I have," I said when I saw him. Hades cut me a hard glare, clearly not interested in joking around as he approached the nightstand and Wren backed up to give him space to work.

"Vitals?" Hades asked.

"He's stable," Wren answered, "He hasn't bled anymore, but he's complaining of a stomach ache."

"Yeah, well, maybe he shouldn't have eaten a whole person," Hades deadpanned, making Wren grimace. I blinked at that, then grinned as I looked up at him.

"Is that what happened to Bethany? I fucking ate her?" I asked for clarification. Even in my drugged stupor, that was a little gross. Darling crooned in my subconscious, clearly still fucking proud of his accomplishments. I couldn't even be mad.

Definitely gross.

Definitely explained the stomach ache.

I always knew that bitch would give me indigestion.

"Yeah," Hades said without looking at me, just typing away everything Wren was saying onto his little tablet, "Looks like you actually absorbed some of her magic in the process. Hope Yhwhwa wasn't planning to reincarnate the bitch. It's gonna be hard when her soul is being digested by your Beast."

"Oh shit," I exclaimed, making them look at me and I stared at them, "I even stopped her from reincarnating? Holy shit. Darling, dude, that was amazing." I rubbed my chest and Darling fluttered a little, clearly surprised by the compliment considering most of our conversations were unintelligible growling.

"How much did you give him?" Hades asked Wren, who frowned.

"You said to hook up the whole bag. He's missing his entire left arm and a section of his torso. I figured the more the better; plus he's an artificial, so his metabolism is high, right?"

"Yeah, but he's more annoying than usual," Hades muttered as he typed something into his tablet and I wrinkled my nose at him.

"No, you're the annoying one," I said, making Hades roll his eyes as he tried to ignore me and Wren patted the bed to get my attention so he could shut me up, but the mouth diarrhea was on a roll, "Ryk is the nice one. He's super nice. He was nice to me right off the bat."

"Ryk is an idiot," Hades said under his breath.

"No, you're an idiot," I returned, "Just because Ryk is nice doesn't mean he's an idiot. It's not his fault the rest of the world is full of fucking assholes like you and me." Hades paused at that. Wren glanced at him, then looked at me as he cleared his throat, reaching out to take my hand and giving me a squeeze.

"Hey, Jasper, if you could just... please keep your mouth shut for just a minute," he said softly and I just nodded, then turned to Hades in silence. Hades glanced at me, annoyed, but said nothing as he typed in a few more things, then set the tablet aside.

Wren got up and moved out of his way as he took my good hand into his so he could check my pulse between his fingers.

"His heart rate is a little high for being sedated."

"It was making a weird noise earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"I, uh," Wren paused to look at me and I just looked at him expectantly, waiting for that whole minute to be over so I could talk again, but he looked back at Hades instead, "I had my ear against his chest. He just... got real quiet when he was sleeping, but when I listened, it didn't sound right." Hades nodded and took out his stethoscope. I watched him plug the tubes into his ears and he brought the cold metal forward against my chest.

I barely felt it as I watched him press the metal plate against my chest, then slide across the area over my heart. I just smiled, because I had no idea what he was looking for, and I don't think he realized how funny he looked with those things coming out of his ear, his black scrubs, like he was so professional.

"What do you hear?" I whispered. Hades grimaced, giving me a pointed look before he pulled away and draped the stethoscope around his neck.

"Yeah, something's going on in there. I don't know if it's from the fight with Bethany or if it was like this before. I didn't get a good listen last time because he doesn't know how to shut up once he starts in," Hades said, turning to Wren as I scowled.

"Me?"

"It almost sounds like a heart murmur," Wren admitted with a shrug and Hades paused to consider that, both of them ignoring me now, "My dad's heartbeat sounds weird because of his issues. It's not, like, anything fatal, right?" Hades shook his head.

"Not so far," he answered, "I'll just monitor it for now. Once he's stable enough, I can start working on a replacement for the arm he lost. I should be able to give him full function again."

"Oh that's fine," I said absentmindedly, making them look at me, "I'm right handed too. As long as I can masturbate, I'm fine." Hades looked at Wren, who was slowly blushing from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. He cleared his throat and looked down, avoiding Hades's stare.

"And this is the one," he said to Wren, who awkwardly shifted and rubbed the back of his neck, "This is the one you like. Not Kali? Are you sure not Kali?" Wren glared at him, folding his arms over his chest and cocking his head.

"Yes, sir. He's mine," he replied tightly. I looked at Hades, who looked very disappointed.

"Yeah, sorry," I said to Hades, who glared at me, "It's his way or the highway, dude."

"He's stable for now," Hades said, changing the subject and going to double check the machines and my IV bag as I smiled at Wren, who approached me once more so he could cup my face in his hands and give me a scolding squeeze.

"Keep him on the medication for now, otherwise he's going to be in a lot of pain. If you run out, let me know and I'll send Rowan up with another bag," Hades explained as he packed up his stuff. I looked at him, eyes wide.

"Oh! Hey, I whacked him pretty good, he's fine, right?"

"He's a primordial demon. He's fine."

"No, I know he's fine, like, physically, but it didn't hurt his feelings, did it," I asked and Hades looked caught off guard, so did Wren, as they looked at me, "He's very sad. I can feel it. I wanted to see what he knew and when I went into his head, it was so dark and foggy." Hades said nothing now. He looked away, like my words made him uncomfortable.

Wren glanced at Hades, then at me and shook his head, like he was telling me to stop talking.

I smiled sadly, reaching up to brush my knuckles by Wren's cheek and he froze at the tender gesture.

"I live there," I said and when Hades looked at me in confusion, I just kept smiling sadly at Wren as I remembered that dark oppressive fog, that fatigue, the confusion, the sense of emptiness that was so overwhelming that the only way to remind myself that I was even still alive and not just a ghost was to test it.

I looked down at the scars that were faded on my wrists, rubbing my thumb against them.

"It's really dark," I whispered, and I wasn't sure why I was whispering, "It's so cold. He's there by himself. It's better when we're alone, but it hurts so much. Nobody should hurt that much."

"Maybe I should lower the meds," Hades muttered thoughtfully, reaching for my IV, but I reached out with my good arm and caught his wrist, freezing him in place.

He hated me touching him.

I could sense it.

But it was like he wasn't listening to me.

"Is he mad at me," I demanded, making Hades frown at me, "Can you tell him I'm sorry? I didn't mean to hurt him. I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Hades looked at Wren, who frowned as he reached out to gently pry me off Hades. Hades immediately put a lot of space between us. I'm talking a good six meters as he gathered up the rest of his belongings.

"Wren, watch him. If he gets to be too much trouble—"

"He won't be," Wren stated. Hades looked skeptical. He glanced back towards me, grimaced, then immediately went out the door and slammed it shut behind him. I looked at Wren.

"He's so funny," I stated. Wren gave me an odd look.

"Maybe you should just go to sleep again, Jasper."

"No, I want to touch you," I replied, reaching for Wren's hand and he watched me curiously as I put his hand on the side of my face. I felt Darling purr in my chest, the sound rumbling between my lips. Wren sighed, stroking my face and I relaxed, a drowsy smile spreading across my lips. I turned my face into his palm, nuzzling him. His breath hitched, especially when my tongue slid between his fingers. He coughed, pulled his hand away, and got up so he could start pulling the blankets back up over me.

"Okayyy," Wren said, and I cocked my head to watch him in amusement, because he wasn't very good at hiding his boner and he wasn't very good at hiding how flustered he was, "Let's get you tucked in for another nice long nap."

"Can you nap with me?" I asked, still staring at his groin. Wren rolled his eyes, picking up one of my pillows, and smashed me in the face with it. I laughed, hauling the pillow off my face, only to gasp as Wren leaned down and captured my lips after it was gone.

The kiss was gentle and sweet, even though I wanted to haul him down on top of me.

He pulled away to kiss me on the forehead, which settled me down because it was unexpected. I wasn't sure why. I blinked at that, then looked up to meet Wren's eyes as he stared at me.

"Rest, Jasper. Please. You deserve it." I heard him open the IV more and I smiled slowly as I felt the weight dragging me down.

"I already... slept..."

"You have a lot to catch up on, baby, just close your eyes and relax."

"Mmm."

I was already drifting to sleep, a smile spreading onto my face as a moment later, I felt the bed shifting and the blankets being adjusted. A moment later, Wren's arms very gently and carefully wrapped around my waist to hold me close.

I draped my good arm around him and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.